Having built a loyal community of fans through playing gigs, the hard graft of London based Hoodlums has paid dividends with sold out headline shows at The Social, The Lexington, Barfly, The Queen of Hoxton and Cargo. From these attention-grabbing live shows, festival slots at Rockness, Hop Farm and Secret Garden Party naturally followed. Soon the band was being offered to support the likes of Suede, Keane and The View.
Hoodlums music has also made waves beyond the live arena, soundtracking Sky Sports for Championship football, and being used by producers Monkey Kingdom for their show, Made In Chelsea.
Hoodlums charms have also been noticed in other areas – enigmatic frontman Lou was chosen as a key model in the Wayne Hemmingway, ‘Hemmingway for Hush Puppies’ campaign, which focused on true London originals. Bassist Nick Pini has been a part of Laura Marling’s live band for the last couple of years, having worked with many in that particular scene on various occasions. The pair also worked together with the critically acclaimed Cocknbullkid, co-writing recent and previous material.
Musically they may not be defined by a style or scene, yet a couple of singles released in 2012 received rave reviews from the likes of Tom Robinson and John Kennedy, amongst other press and radio. This praise pushed the band back into the studio with Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers) to capture the bands epic live show on record. After pulling 24 hour shifts, Hoodlums have emerged with an EP/album they cannot wait to unleash on the world.
“This Death Cab for Cutie-espque bout of upbeat moping from the South London outfit weaves autumnal piano around big guitars and anthemic vocals” • Q Essential 50
“This London-based motley-crew produce a sound like no other, highly original, lyrical, theatrical, at the close of the set the audience are literally screaming for more.” • The Fly
“Literally swinging from the rafters and dancing on the tables and chairs are support band Hoodlums. This is how all great parties end.” • NME
“Hoodlums have your empathy and your heart.” • Time Out
“Hard to miss thanks to their expansive songs and a double bass, this debut single should see them convert their onstage plaudits into a recorded reputation of note” • Q Track of the Day
“Pop rock that sounds custom built for arenas and wide open expanses” • Fake DIY
“This band create somthing more sensitive than your average indie pop fare” • THE SUN
“In Lou Vainglorious Hoodlums have got an accomplished and incredibly engaging frontman, and there’s an honesty about this performance that’s utterly refreshing”
“Hoodlums have a distinctive approach to song-craft that’s completely their own” • THE FLY
